Money Pit - Red Tide - Do's and Don'ts

I mentioned this on Society a couple of nights ago, just wantecd to check that any new players are also aware of it.

RED TIDE
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We all know (at least most) that Red Tide can be run over and again, however don't feel that it needs to be completed each time. If you load into the game solo and just kill as many ships as possible you'll find it an excellent source of both money and pendants/commendations. The adde bonus is, once you fail the mission (either because two ships will escape or the fort will fall) you are allowed to exit the zone at any time. Leaving you free to go after as many hsips as you can/want and exit if things get dicey.

Here's a brief breakdown of Red Tide when done from a solo perspective:

1) On loading into the zone there are approximately 10 ships sailing past, these will continue to do so unless you score a direct hit on them. Any ships you do hit will then be "pulled" and will continue to attack until sunk. It is possible to engage every one of them but I do not reccomend it.

2) Either shortly after sinking the above ships, or with one or two left, the fort will fall. This will then free up the two attacking Drakesmen Freeboaters to come for you. DO NOT SAIL OUT TO MEET THEM. Instead wait for them and follow the simple tactic I will describe at the end.

3) On the tasks list for the mission, you will notice a timer next to the "save fort before reinforcements arrive" mission. Once this timer reaches zero, a further nine ships will spawn. These spawn with one intention - kill you. No need to pull them, they want your skull as a trophy.

4) On a standard run for me (sinking 5-6 of the original ships, 2 freeboaters, and the nine spawns) I earn on average between 2-3k per run and the additional cooms for each ship. Total time is anywhere between 15 and 30 mins, depending on how fast the various crew abandon ship, how many missed shots you have, etc.

Multiple ship tactic - Red Tide
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Tendancy, when engaging multiple opponents, is to keep on the move to try and outmaneuver the ships - DON'T. In stead, sit yourself up-wind present your broadside and fire. Even if the NPC ships are themselves firing broadsides, once hit they will turn and head directly towards you. This may require up to 3 hits from you, but they WILL turn. Once this happens keep firing at their bow.

Once they are within 20 yards, they will turn and fire, usually attempting to cut across your stern. Once this hapopens, deploy full sails and turn back on them, effectively presenting your stern as a target. If you maintain this turn (and have firing on manual as opposed to auto) you will once again present your broadside targets with a perfect shot at the bow. If you didn't sink or empty their ship when they were sailing towards you, this shot will.

Once this ship is done with, store your sails and pick thenext target. Then just repeat all over again with the exact same results. You'll find that you'll take very little damage, as the NPCs will prefer to fire from afar, thus severly reducing their accuracy - approximately 70% of shots will miss. It also allows you to pick the best targets to sink first, allowing for complete control of the battle.

Hope that any old and new players alike will find this of at least some use, I know some of you will already know this, but I believe it's important that everyone should be armed with as much info as possible.

Regards
Baylian LeMarc

did abit of red tide last night,its alot better to start the mission kill as many of the 10 ships sailing past as you can.loot and leave then start again.once all the 10 ships are dead.you find yourself wasting time waiting for the other few ships to kill.

Excellent post Captain LeMarc! Congratulations, by the way, to your XP books I heard about in the chat last night!